How Amazon's Jeff Bezos became the world's richest man for just a few hours

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became the world’s richest man yesterday, however, he didn’t retain the title for very long after Microsoft founder Bill Gates reclaimed the lead as Amazon’s stock fell nearly 1 per cent for the day to $1,046.

Gates held the throne for four straight years, until Bezos managed to surpass him yesterday after Amazon’s stock price rose 1.8 percent in the late hours of Thursday, making him $1.5 billion richer overnight.

According to a Times of India report, Amazon shares have been trading at a record high. They hit $1,083.31 at about noon Thursday.

An IndiaTimes report suggested that financial analysts have attributed Amazon’s gradual rise in stock prices over the past year to Amazon Prime. The service been attracting newer customers.

Part of Amazon’s spending involves opening new warehouses and filling them with employees. On Wednesday, Amazon said it plans to hire thousands of warehouse workers on the spot at job fairs across the country.

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Forbes said Bezos’ net worth was about $90.6 billion when the market opened Thursday. Gates had $90.1 billion. “Gates would have been the undisputed leader had he not given billions of dollars away to various philanthropic cause,” it stated.

Earlier in June, Bezos issued a request for philanthropic ideas in a tweet, just before Amazon announced a $13.7 billion deal for organic grocer Whole Foods. It is believed that the changes in Bezos’ fortune coincided with Amazon’s report of a 77 percent decline in quarterly profit on heavy spending. Shares fell another 2 percent in after-markets trading as the company missed Wall Street’s expectations on profit.